So as I keep losing, I also keep wondering this: is there a moment when your body just transforms? For instance, I have friends who are about the same weight as me but they don't look overweight, or rather, they don't look obese, even if they might be in that category. (IE: they might be THICK, but they aren't fat.) I'm just wondering when that moment happened for y'all, when you stopped looking "fat". Part of me thinks it'll be a long time before I stop looking "fat", but I know there's not much I can do about it. I'm just wondering when real body changes started happening for you all.
Like, did you wake up one morning and find that your gut didn't look so much like a gut anymore? Or your double chin simply was not there anymore? How did this come about for y'all?
It was not an overnight transformation, for me, but I noticed I really stopped looking obese around 180 and normal as I am right now. I'm still heavier, but nothing particularly stands out as 'fat'. For the first sixty or seventy pounds I just looked less degrees of obese, but finally enough parts of me shrank to change my overall appearance. Working on fitness moved that along faster too, I think. It definitely gave me more shape and tone which makes even the fat I still have look better. Time also helped - even staying at the same bodyweight my skin tightened and features changed a bit after a month or so.
Your mileage may vary, but that's been my experience. Now, every ten pounds is dramatically different on me, but that is a recent change on a journey that has been several years in the making. It took a fair bit of weight to really dent the fat-girl look I'd spent years working on, unfortunately
mine happened so slowly that i didnt even notice it until i compared photos side by side...and i still dont FEEL like i've lost any weight although my brain thinks that i look better when i look in the mirror...and i still have a ways to go also...
The day I hit 140lbs—normal BMI for my height oddly enough. I woke up that day and just felt "normal weight."
It wasn't because of the BMI charts (because I my scale was weighing me at 150lbs, so I thought I weighed that) but it was as if I had lost some magical amount. I can't really explain it, but even other people noticed THAT VERY DAY. Before that most people said "oh, you look like you lost some weight" but as soon as I hit that mark it was "OH MY GOD YOU LOOK AMAZING."
Strange, really.
When I got into the 120s there was a day I woke up and swore I could see the muscles in my arms that I couldn't before and just recently I was changing and saw ab definition that I hadn't noticed before.
On a good day, I felt it around 150 pounds. My mind is really messed up I don't see myself how others see me. Lately, I've been seeing the actual me a little more- probably with the last 10 or so pounds. Its easier for us to see it on other people then for us to see it on ourselves sometimes!
It really depends on your perspective. For me my heaviest was 178 and I thought that if I could only get below 160 I would feel thin. Then I got to 158 and guess what? I still felt like people would dismiss me as a fat person. I honestly think that I won't feel thin unless I am 145 with some muscle tone, which is my goal. It really depends on the person looking at you and what you personally define as thin.
When I got down to 169 last year it was clothing. When I moved from plus sizes to "regular" was a big one... also when I laid on my back on the floor and looked down and my stomach was smooth instead of sticking up, that was a great moment.
Sadly, everyone above is right and the "fat" thing is more mental than visual. Plan a new haircut (like a go to a good salon and trust the stylist haircut) and budget for clothing as loss rewards (I can make $20 go a long way for clothes at thrift stores) because those changes will shake up your brain in the mirror. We're similar in height and I had a big shape/size breakthrough at 180ish and again at 170.
Just like ArcticMama, I felt the most transformation after getting under 180. I am still 'overweight' but I feel incredibly fit. and I think that if you are working out, you'll look more fit than someone else your size who doesn't work out. and like Krampus says, I believe I noticed it a month later too. It's crazy how the mind and body work As you get smaller, it takes less weight to make a bigger difference in how your body looks. and that's why I felt the most transformation in my 170s. It's great. You're doing awesome on your weight loss, keep it up and soon you'll get your tranformation
Somewhere in the last 5lbs. I guess right around or just after I hit a "normal" bmi, which might mean it's as much mental as physical. Over the last month (which is how long those 5lbs have taken), I've also noticed that I can feel my hip bones much more prominently and can see this boney lump that I've had for years on my rib cage; both of those things make me feel less fat and more fit.
Now, when I look in the mirror without clothing, I seem to be melting. Not a good look.
It was really when my old clothes started to feel too big, that I felt like I could see a change in my body. It will happen for you too. You just need to keep going and know that as the days go by your body is changing.
Start taking pictures. That was the easiest way for me to notice it. I still feel like my face is bigger when I look in a mirror. My calorie counting app has a before and after picture option. I update the after picture about once a month to keep motivated.